Recap of Bill Conner’s Service in World War II

Written by Bill Conner

Entered U.S. Navy in August 1943.

First assignment to San Diego for Boot Training for 3 weeks. Then to the Destroyer Base in San Diego for Cook & Baker’s School for 15 weeks. Then to the amphibious landing craft base on the strand for coxswain training.

Sent to San Francisco to the Embarcadero. Left San Francisco on David O. Squire Transport to Noumea, New Caledonia. Assigned duty as cook on Section Base (small island) with 36 men and wood burning stove. Drove supply truck each day from base via L.S.T. (landing craft) to purchase supplies in Noumea, then to huge supply depot inland. We were told not to stop or get out of the truck in route, as the natives along the way were not friendly. I recall one group who regularly fished from a rock with nets. One was always perched on a large rock and was an albino and stood out from the rest. Noumea was populated by many Chinese who spoke French. There was a prison in town with cement walls two feet thick. When the cement was wet, the builders had placed thousands of beer bottles, neck down, in the top of the wall. When the cement dried, they broke the bottoms out of the bottles and the broken glass prevented the prisoners from escaping over the wall.

I was reassigned to the island of Tulagi to wait the arrival of the troop transport President Jackson APA 18. During my stay on Tulagi, I became lost in the jungle and followed the coast for three days before finding a seaplane base, whose personnel returned me to my base. My arrival at Tulagi, which is just across the Guadalcanal channel, was shortly after the Guadalcanal invasion, and one could see the wreckage strung along the beaches and the sterns of ships projecting above the water in the channel. There was much aircraft wreckage along the beaches from which we salvaged the plexiglass to make handles for our knives. I also recall a huge troop transport several hundred feet inland from the beach, with four huge holes in its side. The largest task force ever assembled was being formed at Guadalcanal in preparation for the invasion of Guam and Saipan. I was assigned to the President Jackson First Division and we proceeded to load supplies and put the ship in order for its new assignment. We went to Tinian (Base Island) for R&R, where we played baseball and I dived for cateyes. We returned to Guadalcanal to board our troops.

The Jackson had a complement of 600 crew and 3500 marines. The lower decks were equipped with bunks 6” high, and when loaded with troops, it was difficult walking from one point to another. The troops, of course, would gather on the upper deck, which caused tremendous congestion and overcrowding.

Following our departure from the Canal, we formed up with other flotilla and, if I recall correctly, we totaled 53 vulnerable troop transports, fully loaded. Unbeknown to us, we were decoys to draw out the Japanese fleet, which was holed up in Luzon. Hidden over the horizon from our convoy was a large naval task force ready to attack if the Japanese fleet came out into the open sea. Fortunately for us, the Japanese Fleet did not attempt to leave their harbor, although several of their aircraft were detected. We then criss-crossed the equator for 14 days. It was hot and humid and with the tight quarters, tempers grew very short. We proceeded to Saipan and the President Jackson was ordered to lie ½ mile off the beach as a standby ship until our troops were needed. Other transports were assigned to disembark their troops for the invasion. Each troop transport carried its own landing craft, which were placed I the water to stand by for troop loading. Large rope ladders were thrown over each side of he transport to allow the troops to climb down the side and into the awaiting landing craft. As he troops were carrying their rifles, hand grenades, gas masks, backpacks, and everything else they possessed, it created mass confusion when they were told to disembark. The rope nets were difficult to maneuver and the small boats were bobbing and bouncing in the water below the bottom of the nets. When the coxswain had his boat loaded to capacity, he departed, leaving the net loaded with descending troops dangling in midair. Once the boats were loaded, they formed rotating circles alongside their mother ship, awaiting signals to land. We were told that there would be little opposition as the island had been constantly bombarded for 13 days, and if there were any Japanese troops left on the island, they would be so confused they could not put up a proper defense. Apparently, we had been misinformed as the island was heavily fortified and well defended, and we lost many boats and troops. The policy was that each landing craft return their wounded to their mother ship, but in the mass confusion, the president Jackson, being closest to the beach, automatically received all the wounded. I recall the mess hall being utilized for surgery. The chow tables were mounted at each end on floor to ceiling pipes, and could be raised or lowered to the desired height. This was ideal as the doctors could lower them to waist high and used them as surgery tables. Our mess hall was full of wounded and treaded wounded, and the decks and bunks were loaded with wounded. I was the coxswain assigned to deliver hot food to the beach for those still on the beach. I was also assigned duty of operating a flamethrower to dispose of the enemy dead alongside the trail from the beach inland. Within 3 days we had Saipan secured to the point where the President Jackson was ordered to proceed to the Island of Guam for that invasion, with all the sounded from Saipan still aboard.

The task force lay off Guam awaiting orders to disembark troops. We could clearly see the small town, the naval base, and the large water tower. Two battleships, one at each end of Guam, fired salvos onto the island continually for approximately 3 days, while the fighters from the aircraft carriers strafed the island. There were small rocket launching ships of the beach firing at any activity detected and were protected by a battleship, I believe it was the Missouri. Originally the plan was to utilize water buffalo to take the troops to a reef surrounding the island and have the LCVP’s waiting inside the reef and transfer the troops from one to the other for the landing assault on the beach. As the operation proceeded, it was determined that the existing passage through the reef was inadequate for the demand, and the enemy fired mortars at the troops as they were changing boats on the reef, taking a heavy toll. Therefore, it was decided to send in a demolition crew and blow a larger opening in the reef. We then loaded the troops directly into the landing craft fro the trip to the beach. My duties during the invasion were as coxswain aboard an LVP. We were instructed to offload the troops on the beach and then close the front steel ramp of the LCVP and back into the bay out of rifle range, utilizing the ramp as a shield. As backing was a slow operation, plus dodging the incoming landing craft, the majority of the coxswain found it expedient to swing the boats around and head to sea, full power, while ducking down into the cockpit area. The Navy had instructions not to destroy the Naval Base, Water Tower, or Chapel, however, the Japanese troops apparently were aware of this, and they gathered in, on or under these places, which left no choice, but to bomb them. Guam was a U.S. Territory previous to the Japanese occupation, which made the invasion somewhat easier since Guam inhabitants were still on the island. Following the invasion of Guam, we proceeded out to sea to perform burial services. Then we were ordered to return to Pearl Harbor with our wounded. We disembarked these wounded at Pearl for further treatment, and picked up a full complement of wounded from previous invasions to take to the United States for further treatment of their injuries or disability discharges. We returned to San Pedro on a foggy morning with our pennants flying. The President Jackson, having been at sea for 27 months, in numerous battles, and having a Presidential Citation for being the first ship into Guadalcanal, flew her pennant from the mast, which trailed so far aft that helium balloons were placed to keep it for sagging into the water. This, plus the fact that our deck was loaded with wounded, amputees, and stretcher cases, we made quite a sight, and received a grand reception from the other ships, blowing their horns, and office workers waving and cheering.

I remember our crew being referred to as “Asiatic“ since their dress consisted of cutoff jeans and tennis. We pulled alongside the pier in San Pedro. Someone announced that liberty would be granted immediately. The crew climbed over the side of the ship and headed for town. There must have been 40 or 50 ambulances waiting to receive our wounded.

Since I had injured my back during my cook and baker’s training, and it has progressively worsened, I, along with the wounded, was taken to the Long Beach Naval Hospital. I remained there for several months, and was transferred to the Arrowhead Springs Hotel Hospital above San Bernardino fro recuperation. Arrowhead Springs Hotel had be a luxurious resort preceding the war, but it had been utilized as a convalescent hospital during the war. Other than the medical staff, there were 600 recuperating marines and 100 navy personnel.

It was a beautiful place, hidden among the pines. The lush carpets were still on the floors, but the rooms were full of metal bunk beds. Because of the constant problem with the static electricity from the carpet, when you sat on your bunk after walking on the caret you received quite a shock. This caused further injuries as when one sat on his bunk and received a jolt; he would jump up smashing his head against the upper bunk. During my stay at this resort, the race wars were in full progress, and several of our recuperating patients were injured or killed while on liberty. As San Bernardino was primarily Army due to March Air Base, a sailor or marine was an oddity to the local residents. There was a large bulletin board in the lobby that was full of invitations to the patients to attend dinners, dances, church and all kinds of activities in town. After my stay,
I requested to be reassigned to my ship, but was told it had been sunk, which I later found out to be untrue. I was reassigned to the receiving station on Terminal Island in Long Beach to await new assignment. My duties were in the galley as a cook. Since I lived in Long Beach, I was allowed to live at home, drive to work each morning in my whites and return home at the end of my shift. Since gas was rationed, and I had no gas rations, I arranged with other cooks living in the Navy housing trailers, who heated and cooked with white gas, to provide me 5 gallons of white gas a week in exchange for their transportation. I had a Studebaker 6 cylinder that operated during this time on white gas. During my stay on Terminal Island a notice was placed on the bulletin board that any apprentice seamen with so many moths duty overseas, please contact personnel. I did so and was told the Navy did not want any apprentice seaman with that much sea duty and I was automatically made seaman first class.

From Terminal Island, I was sent to San Francisco to Treasure Island to await the launching of the destroyer, Buck. During my stay on the Island, I was assigned duty in the gymnasium as instructor in the women’s body development class and galley. At this particular time, the island was the home of many German prisoners who worked in the galley, gardening duties and such.

The majority was very happy and cooperative. Periodically, I would have to go into town for supplies and they would eagerly volunteer to help; as they would get to see San Francisco. I remember they would walk to their particular assignments. They were always in perfect cadence although no cadence was being called. It was rather depressing as our troops would be on the grinder marching and falling over on another. The prisoners were very regimented and made us look like a bunch of clogs.

One evening the barracks yeoman asked me to stand his duty as he had an important liberty. I thought that this was a good deal, as I would have access tot he typewriter and could type a letter home. Those in our barracks who had not been assigned duty had been sent to a gunnery school some miles down the coast. During the night, I received a call from the base commander saying that they the Japanese had surrendered and he requested I round up all those left in the barracks and have them wait out front for busses. He explained that our personnel at the gunnery school had rioted because they wanted liberty due to the Armistice. He said that the City of San Francisco was in chaos. I awoke al the personnel in the barracks, had them line up out front, and awaited the bus, which never arrived. I was not the most popular fellow the next day.

Later, we were informed that the Buck had capsized following launching and we were reassigned to the R.B. Anderson, DD786. We were taken by train to Seattle. They had obtained whatever railroad equipment could be located to move our troops. Ours consisted of wicker seats, missing windows, and was very old and creaky. During our journey, as a troop train, we were sidetracked for all other trains, and spent most of our time sitting on the side rails. At one point, we were in a siding and there was a small liquor & grocery store about ¼ mile away. The troops were hungry and thirsty, and during our long wait they disembarked to go to the store. There were hundreds of personnel taking advantage of this opportunity. When the engineer sounded the horn that he was ready to depart, you can imagine everyone took off running for the train with their arms full and most items not paid for and the store operator in pursuit. I was impressed with the beauty of Puget Sound with the pine trees coming right down to the ocean as we crept our way toward Seattle.

The Robert B. Anderson was a 250 ton craft destroyer. When we boarded the Anderson (which was named after a marine who fell on a hand grenade in a fox hole to protect his buddies) we began to receive the necessary supplies. However, in the confusion, we had been shipped supplies for an aircraft carrier rather than a destroyer. We received ladles larger that the coppers we had on board. We received thousands of foul weather, fur lined jackets, and other supplies. We were told to utilize what we could and discard the rest.

We proceeded to put the Anderson through her shakedown cruise off the Oregon coast and took her into Puget Sound for demagnetization so that the metal seeking depth charges could be loaded without detonating. Since I had been up all night cooking, I was asleep in my bunk, which was in the bow if the ship and not aware of the demagnetization going on. Demagnetization requires that all instruments be removed from the ship. My watch never worked again. Our shakedown run was during a storm and we were required to tie ourselves in our bunks to keep from being thrown out. The rivets in the galley would shear from the stress and shoot across the mess hall like bullets.

We were assigned to the San Diego area and were unfortunately placed under the control of the Naval Training Center. The war had come to a close and personnel were being discharged. Unfortunately, the cooks were frozen due to the shortage and I was the only cook aboard the Anderson for the 350 crew. Even the officers’ mess cooks had been discharged. The officers were required to eat with the crew which was not to their liking.

When my discharge became due, I was sent to San Pedro, was sectioned out and received my discharge.

I was at home.

Bill Conner

Bill Ray Conner (1925 - 2006)